Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada v. Jackson, 877 F.3d 698 (6th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 2624 (2018) (a) Facts: The parties were divorced in 2006. The divorce decree, which incorporated a separation agreement, ordered the husband to maintain any employer-provided life insurance policies for the…
Articles Posted in CPAVille
Better Late Than Never…but Never Late Is Better; QDROs and Laches.
In re Beeghley, ___ Fed. App’x ___, 2018 WL 3060089 (3d Cir. 2018) (unpublished) (a) Facts: The parties were divorced in Delaware in 1995. The trial court divided the husband’s pension and ordered the wife to prepare a DRO. No DRO was ever signed. The husband remarried, and he…
“Return to Sender”
Stephens v. Alliant Techsystems Corp., 714 F. App’x 841 (10th Cir. 2017) (unpublished) (a) Facts: A husband divorced in Utah. A Utah state court entered at least two DROs dividing retirement benefits, each time reserving jurisdiction to amend the order in the future. The plan qualified the DROs. The…
Compliance is Key!
Kirkpatrick v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2018-20, 2018 WL 1040955 (2018) (a) Facts: The wife sued the husband for divorce in Maryland. A Maryland court issued a pendente lite order, providing for temporary support. In addition, the order required the husband to “transfer to Ms. Kirkpatrick the sum of One…
“Not for Profit”…Part 2
Lucas v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2018‑80, 2018 WL 2948427 (2018) (a) Facts: The parties divorced in Florida in 2011. While the divorce was pending, the husband was in the process of liquidating his business, Vicis Capital, LLC. He received, while the action was pending, $4.7 million in distributions. Florida…
“Not for Profit” … Part 1
Barry v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2017-237, 2017 WL 5899406 (2017) (a) Facts: When the parties were divorced, the husband agreed to pay the wife $2,400 per month in alimony. Twenty-four years later, the husband filed an action against the wife in federal court for breach of contract, arguing that…
“Paid in Full” isn’t always a good thing…Be careful of fine print.
Logue v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2017‑234, 2017 WL 5713945 (2017) (a) Facts: The parties entered into a premarital agreement. The agreement provided, among other things, that the wife would receive, upon divorce, a lump sum of $100,000, plus $10,000 for each year the parties were married. The parties married…
Enron still causing trouble
Leslie v. Comm’r, 725 F. App’x 597 (9th Cir. 2018) (unpublished) (a) Facts: A husband and wife signed a separation agreement to settle a California divorce case. In a section entitled “Spousal Support,” the agreement awarded the wife $7,000 per month, stating expressly that it would end upon either party’s…
Calling it a duck doesn’t always make it one.
Hexum v. Comm’r, 721 F. App’x 512 (7th Cir. 2018) (unpublished) (a) Facts: The parties were divorced in Illinois. The wife remained in the former marital home, and the husband was ordered to pay the mortgage. Upon an eventual sale of the home, the parties were to split the net…
Goodbye Alimony? Not so fast!
by Carolyn Woodruff, attorney, CPAAs has been widely reported, Congress has repealed I.R.C. §§ 71 and 215, thereby eliminating the federal tax reduction for alimony. In addition, Congress has repealed former I.R.C. § 61(a)(8), which expressly defined alimony as taxable income. In tax years governed by the new law, alimony will be taxable income…